“No, the easy-chair seems rather necessary. By the way, how much of the sixty-two is actually paid?”
“Thirty-seven dollars and twenty-five cents. I don’t suppose we’ll get it all, either, by the time we need it.”
“I’ll borrow the difference from father,” said Morris. “He will let us have it, I guess. I dare say I could afford to contribute another dollar or two.”
“There’s no reason why you should,” declared Nell Sawin. “I think it’s a shame that we can’t make up a small amount like that. The girls have given almost half again as much as the boys. They ought to be ashamed of themselves!” This was quite severe for Nell, who was normally incapable of censure, and Lanny was moved to a defense of his sex.
“We have more things to spend our money on than you girls,” he said. “Besides, there are more girls than boys in school, Nell.”
“Only about ten,” said Louise severely, tapping her teeth with the tip of her brother’s fountain pen. “We’ve just got to get some more money.”
“Let’s have a fair,” suggested May, and Grace Lovering, who had not contributed to the discussion, clapped her hands.
“Let’s!” she said. “We could easily make twenty dollars, Louise!”
“Fairs are no earthly use,” was the reply. “Not when you really want to make anything. It always costs nearly as much as you take in to get ready. We’d have to make things or get folks to give us things to sell, and there isn’t time. We might—might have an entertainment, though.”
“There isn’t time for that, either,” said Morris. “Besides, no one would come.”